Joy - or lack there of....

I know last time i posted i thought i was ready to get back to work.  I know i have things i need to get working on.  I even have a few things that i would like to start. 

The problem is every time i walk into my sewing room (that isnt even finished), i think "I dont even care."  This past year has been so hard that i have almost no joy in anything i do.  Even the things that i used to love. 

My youngest daughter is visiting my oldest daughter in another state and has been since Jan.  I think she really needed this, but i miss them - and especially Lindsey - sooo much.  They and 2 of my grandkids are coming up by car next week so i wont have to wait long to see them. Hopefully then this funk i'm in will start to lift.  I'm sure if they have their way we will not be home much and the grandkids will be a breath of fresh air.

I was cruising around joann.com a while back looking for something to thrill me and saw a cross stitch pattern that i thought my son & brother would like.  Well, i hee-hawed  around for a couple of weeks, going back & forth on getting it.  I wasnt sure i'd even do it, or if it would just sit there.  Anyway, the other day i noticed it was on sale & they had a coupon for free shipping.  It should be here tomorrow.  :)  At least i can work on that and not have to get out of bed.

Hopefully i'll have some project(s) to report before Easter, but if not yall have a good one.

michelle

Cross Stitch

When i started gathering together the things i needed to start quilting again, i noticed that the blade on my rotary cutter was very dull, and i couldnt find my cutting mat.  I dont know if i left it in Tx, or if it just got put in a box somewhere. 
Now it just so happened that my hubby had to take his chainsaw to Sears for repairs in the same shopping center that you can find a Joann fabric.  So off we went.  I had already looked online so i had an idea of what it would cost. 
But i tell you what, it was much higher in the store.  I was really surprised at the difference.  Needless to say, i decided the wait was worth it.  I'm glad i did too cause when we got back home and i checked facebook, my niece had "liked" Joann Fabrics, which led me to go their page and find a coupon for 1/2 off any regular priced item.  Score.  Not only was it cheaper (even with the shipping) but i got 1/2 off my highest regular priced item. 

I still wanted to get something accomplished.  To get back into the feel of sewing.  So, out came one of my cross stitch projects.  This project was given to me in 2005 when i was very, very sick by my mom & daughters.  I was in the hospital with several things wrong and had just had a major seizure that left me with nerve and muscle damage.  I couldnt hold a fork or pencil correctly.  To build my strength back in my hands, Moma & the girls got me find-a-word puzzles and this cross stitch.  They would have to thread the needle for me at first and i could hold it in my fist and poke at the fabric.  But soon it got easier and easier.

Anyway, as i got to doing other things, i put this to the side, working on it here and there.  I worked on it some last night & today.   Here's my progress.

Before:

After:  it's actually not a lot.  I was trying to watch Unforgotten on CBS.com and kept having to refresh the video.  And of course this is in between dishes, meals, etc.

I messed up on the words or maybe the white behind it cause the 'g' and the 'i' are too close together.  I'm thinking about doing another one of these only on yellow instead of light blue.  It's one of the things i like about counted cross stitch.  I can make as many as i want. 

There are lots of blogs out there showing very talented ladies doing their stitching without a hoop (like me) but their fabric is always so flat.  And they sometimes have two or three needles going at once.  I'm afraid i'd have a big mess but i may try it.  Do yall think paper towel tubes would be good to hold my work so i can roll it instead of folding?  Or would that be too flimsy?  Maybe i could put duct tape around it and make it stronger? 

Well, hope everyone's staying warm.  Maybe i'll be able to get more done since i'm spending the days by myself.  My youngest is visiting my oldest daughter in Tx and i am so bored.  Thank goodness for texting so we can 'talk' every day.

michelle



A Gift for the New Year

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and are starting out the New Year with a bang.  There really hasnt been a whole lot of anything going on with me.  I havent been sewing or cross stitching or anything.  It's been one of those situations where i want to want to sew but never get enough energy to actually follow through.  So, i am going to try really hard to get out of my funk and start getting something accomplished.

But first,  I received a wonderful gift a few days before Christmas that i want to tell you about.  Well, way back earlier this year (i'm not sure when) Judy from Lazy Dog Quilts & More was doing a "Pay It Forward" and i signed up.  And then forgot all about it.  It's a good thing no one signed up when i offered to pay it forward cause i just wasnt up to sewing or crafting, but i'm getting away from the point here. 

Judy sent me a great hand bag, some Kona charm squares, a folder of fabric samples, peppermint bark, candy cane cocoa & a very lovely card with a personal message inside. 

As you can see, its red with black handles and white / black on the inside.  I really like the inside. My youngest daughter saw this and started bouncing and clapping.  Sorry charlie, this is mine. : )

 

The charm squares will be perfect for the grandkids' quilts i want to make this year.  Unless of course i get some other inspirational idea.



and to help with my inspiration...a folder with samples of fabric.  This is only part of it cause it folds out. 

And last but not least... chocolate and a very pretty card.  I really appreciate the care and time Judy put into my gift making it special.

I really only have one list for this year.  Same as last year.  Quilts for grandkids, my youngest daughter, nieces & nephews.  Here's hoping that i can at least get the grands & daughter's done.  Now that it's really cold out, i would like to do some cross stitch projects as well. 

There's a challenge going around that's called Crazy Challenge.  I kept seeing it on different blogs but couldnt figure out what you were suppose to do.  Some of the projects were small and were getting finished in one or two days.  I thought "Wow. There's no way i could start a project and get it done in one day." 

Well, i finally found a blog that spelled it out and guess what.... you start a new project each day for 15 days!  Hello.  Starting projects has never been a problem.  So i might do this.  Of course it may mean that i'll have to get more fabric and maybe a pattern or two especially if we get a couple of half-way decent days. Then it can snow & blow while i'm snug in my blanket sewing my little heart out.

If i were being really ambitious, i would also join at least one swap at Another Little Quilt Swap.  We shall see.

michelle

Interesting Blog Projects & Posts

I still dont have my sewing machine set up or my sewing room done the way i like it.  Just too many other summer things pulling us away.  Well, mostly pulling my helpers away but that's okay...cant really blame them. 

So...I figure that while i'm sitting on the porch, surfin' the web for new blogs to look at, i would put some on here.  That way i dont forget where they are when i want to start a new project, i dont neglect my blog & yall have something to see besides me telling you that i'm still not sewing.

My neat, nifty, fun-looking projects for today are:

The Jelly Roll 1600 Quilt at Heirloom Creations Blog (http://blog.heirloomcreations.net/?p=1897)

You take a jelly roll and sew all the strips together in one long row like making binding, then fold it in half and sew together.  Click the link (hopefully it'll work) for much better instructions, pictures and even a video.

and...

This red/orange/black quilt from The Quilty Home (http://thequiltyhome.blogspot.com/2011/07/weekend-ufo-quilt-thon.html) 



Picture copied from The Quilty Home blog by Jen

I love this quilt and would love to know what pattern it is.  I tried to leave her a comment but my computer was being a pain.  I will try again to be sure.

Okay, that's two of my favorite finds for today.  Not counting the blogs i always love to read.

michelle

Internet

Yay!! I finally have internet!  I didn't really mean to neglect my blog.  And now i can get back to posting on a regular basis.  I still have a borrowed computer but my laptop is going into the shop any day now.  I just have to get it down there.  I think the best thing about having my internet back is not only can i blog, but i can visit all my favorites too.  And of course find new ones to visit.

Got the homeschool portfolio turned in, plans made for this coming year (my baby will be a freshman!) & worked on cleaning out the storage room for me a quilting room.  I was going to ask my husband to do it but his business is keeping him very busy and for that, i'm thankful. 

Until next time ~
michelle

Still here....

Just wanted to say that i'm still here.  I just got back to Pa from Texas and have been getting my youngest daughters homeschool portfolio ready to go to her evaluation.  As soon as i get my laptop fixed or a new one, get our internet back on (i'm at mcdonalds) and get back to quilting - i'll be on here on a regular basis.

Those that are still actually reading my blog...thank you very much.

FNSI

Well, i didn't get any actual sewing done but i did get some squares cut.  Unfortunately, i still have some nerve damage in my hands, feet & legs so i cant bend over a cutting board for very long at a time.

I have a nice stack going though.  I have been just picking fabrics randomly to cut into squares but i'm going to start matching fabrics up and cutting them.  That way when i get tired of cutting, i can sew for awhile.  I know that would've made sense to do that from the beginning.   I underestimated how time consuming cutting would be.

Now, i'm gonna jump around to some of the others & see what they've done.  A lot more than me, i'm sure.

*on a personal note:  i am really missing Lindsey, my daughter, today.  There's just so much i don't understand.  i thought we had a really good relationship & could talk about anything.  And we did talk about quite a lot.  Frankly, sometimes i wonder if she tried or was around that new fake weed.  I've heard it's very dangerous and makes people do and see strange things.  Anyway, i have so many people praying for me and my family that i know we'll get through this.